Our responsibility along global supply chains.
As part of our Group guidelines, we are committed to respecting and promoting human rights and to protecting the environment along global supply chains. This understanding has shaped our business practices for more than two decades and is a fundamental part of our corporate culture.
We collaborate with over 20,000 direct suppliers across more than 150 countries. Through clear sustainability standards, established risk management including regular supplier assessments and close partnership-based communication, we actively engage with our suppliers to support them in meeting our requirements and to jointly achieve sustainable progress along the supply chain:
- We ensure adherence to our principles and values throughout the entire supply chain via our Supplier Code of Conduct, which is an integral part of our supplier contracts. The Supplier Code of Conduct defines ethical, social, and environmental standards and ensures compliance with human rights − in line with the requirements of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG).
- We analyze potential risks and human rights violations that may arise from our suppliers or be caused by our business activities along the supply chain. By deriving targeted measures, we contribute to mitigating negative impacts and promoting compliance with sustainable standards.
- Sustainability is also considered in our procurement processes. By taking human rights and environmental requirements into account when selecting suppliers, we ensure that standards for social and environmental responsibility are upheld.
- We regularly assess the human rights and environmental conditions at our suppliers’ production sites. The insights gained are integrated into our established risk management system and serve as a basis for developing and implementing appropriate measures to reduce human rights and environmental risks.
Through these activities and measures, we are continuously working to make global supply chains more sustainable and future ready.
